Textile card flat chains



Aug. 11, 1964 w. A. KLUTTz ETAL TEXTILE CARD FLAT CHAINS Filed March l2. 1962 v INVENTORS: WALTER A. KLuTTz o DAvfn W. Yonef? ATTO EY United States Patent O 3,143,771 TEXTILE CARD FLAT CHAINS Waiter A. Kluttz and David W. Yoder, Gastonia, N.C., assigner-s to Kluttz Machine 3: Foundry Co., Gastonia, N.C., a partnership Fiied Mar. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 179,644 2 Ciairns. (Cl. 19-102) This invention relates to textile carding apparatus and more especially to card at chains or apron formed from spaced card dats secured transversely between a pair of endless link side chains. Such card at chains are adapted to be positioned adjacent the periphery of a rotatable carding cylinder and to cooperate therewith in a well known manner to process various types of textile bers.

Optimum performance of carding engines requires precise control over the relative positions and over the relative paths of travel of the respective teeth in the card cylinder and ats. Research has proven that such control requires each conveyor chain to retain its initial length after continued use and also that the length of both chains be almost perfectly matched. Heretofore it has not been possible to obtain these requirements due to lack of precision in building the side chains which, in turn, resulted in Wide variations in the initial chain lengths designed for the same size card flat chains, as well as imperfect matching of lengths of the pair of side chains of the conveyor. Moreover, maintenance has presented a very serious problem since methods of chain lubrication have proven unfeasible due to the tendency of lint to adhere to the lubricated chain surfaces and subsequently fall into the processed sliver.

It is an object of this invention to eliminate the aforementioned problems encountered in the operation of textile card flat chains. By providing a novel equidistantly spaced series of connections between the chain links, it has been found possible to make all side chains of substantially the same length and further to avoid chain stretch or elongation when stressed under normal usage.

When the length of each chain is substantially the same, it necessarily follows that pairs of these chains incorporated in a card hat chain will be matched as to length so that the respective equidistantly spaced pivotal connections of the chain links will coincide. The card at chain is formed by arranging the card ats transversely between the matched endless side chains and then attaching the ends of each at to the coinciding pivots of the respective side chains.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a textile card flat chain in which the pivotal connections between the ends of the flats and the side chains are selflubricating. This feature is made possible by constructing one of the interengaging bearing surface portions of the previously mentioned pivotal connections from a relatively soft steel or metal and the other portion from a hardened heat-treated steel or similar metal in which a self-lubricating cyanide has been employed to drive dry sulphides to a controllable depth. Other Well known similar processes may be employed to accomplish this purpose.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a textile card flat chain of the class described in which the :dats and flat chain links therein are each detachable one from another so that any component part of the card dat chain may be readily dismantled or assembled.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a carding engine in combination with the improved card flat chain;

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FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail plan view showing the manner in which the opposite ends of the card ats are attached to a pair of endless link side chains to form a card dat chain;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines 4 4 in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail view taken along line 5 5 in FIGURE 2, but omitting the card flat therefrom;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded isometric view of one of the pivotal connections joining two adjacent chain links to one another and to the end of a card flat, and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional detail view illustrating the relative positions of the respective teeth in the ats and carding cylinder during a carding operation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the framework of a carding engine in which is rotatably mounted as at 11 a carding drum 12 with teeth 13 in its periphery (FIGURE 7). During operation of the machine the teeth 13 cooperate with teeth 14 in elongated card ats 15 in a well-known manner to parallel and remove foreign matter from cotton, Wool and synthetic fibers. Prior to such processing, the fibers are in the form of a lap roll 16 located at the intake end of the machine, one end of the lap being drawn beneath feed roll 17, into licker-in chamber 18, and then between the aforementioned teeth 13 and 14.

The elongated flats 15 are spaced in parallel relationship and have the opposite ends thereof secured to a pair of endless link chains 20, 20, respectively, in a manner hereinafter more fully described, thereby forming a textile card flat chain broadly designated by the numeral 21. Except for FIGURE 7, the teeth 14 are omitted from the card dats 15.

Chains 2t), 20 are mounted upon conventional rollers or sprockets 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 which, in turn, are supported by brackets 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 respectively. It will be noted that the ends of flats 15 are provided with recesses 15a which slide upon cams or arch supports 33 when the respective teeth 13 and 14 of the drum and flats are in position to jointly engage the fibers (FIGS. l and 7), said supports 33 being secured upon opposite sides of framework 10.

As heretofore stated, it is important for the two conveyor chains 2% to be almost precisely of the same length in order to secure optimum operating results. Moreover it is necessary to construct these chains in such a manner that continued use will not alter this length identity. This two-fold purpose is accomplished by (a) providing a substantially uniform film contact between the interengaging bearing surfaces at the pivotal connections joining the links to one another and joining the links to the at ends, (b) by making one of the interengaging surface portions of a relative hard heat-treated metal, and (c) by impregnating the relatively hard surface bearing portion with sulphides to a controllable depth to thereby'provide lubrication for the pivotal connections.

The chain conveyor 21 is constructed from ats 15 and from the two endless series of links 20a, 2Gb, so that each part is readily detachable from the others. The overlapping ends of links 20a and 2Gb are pivotally connected by bushing 36, said bushing having a peripheral harige 36a at one end thereof and a peripheral groove Sb at its other end. The ends of links 2tlg and 20h have bores 3S therein which, when placed in coinciding relationship as shown in FIGURE 6, are adapted to accommodate the outer periphery of bushing 36. An expansible lock ring 37 is removably secured in groove 36h, said ring cooperating with flange 36a to confine the overlapping ends of links Ztcz and 2011 on the periphery of the bushing (FIGURE 4).

Holes 37a are provided at the ends of the locking ring 37 to accommodate a suitable tool designed to expand the ring for the purpose of removal or insertion to and from the groove 36h'. Bushing 36 is provided with bore 39 which accommodates the periphery of stud bolt 40, one end of' said bolt-being threadably secured as at 41 in the end of flat 15, and the bushing being rotatable on the bolt.

It is highly essential that the pivot holes 38 be precision bored rather than stamped or punched in the conventional rrianner. Stamping or punching forms frustoconical holes, thus making it impossible to provide a film interengaging contact between the periphery of the hole and a cylindrical pin inserted therein. Instead, the smaller end of the frusta-conical hole constitutes a sharp annular edge which readily penetrates the periphery of the inserted pin thereby causing the chain to stretch or elongate after short usage. Boring of the holes not only lends itself to a higher degree of accuracy, but it also provides a cylindrical shape which can be easily matched with a cylindrical pin.

According to the present invention the bushing 36 is heat-treated and hardened with its outer and inner bearing surfaces shaved and tooled respectively to precise measurements. Similarly, the .periphery of stud bolt 44B is sized precisely to t the bushing bore 39. The fit in both instances is so precise that'substantially a uniform lrn contact exists between the intere'ngaging cylindrical surfaces between the links and bushing on one hand, and the interengaging surfaces between the bushing bore 39 andbo'lt-4i) on the other hand.

In current production of certain card flat chains a tolerance of plus or minus .0005 of an inch is permitted: (l) withrespectV to the center-to-center distance between holes 38 in each link flat 20a and Zlib, (2) with respect to the iit between the inner periphery of bores 38 and the outer periphery of hardened bushing 36, and (3) with respect to the fit between the outer periphery of bolt 4l) and the inner periphery of bushing bore 3?.

Thus in a card chain 20 constructed in accordance with the above specifications, having 110 links and measuring about feetin length, the accumulated error is approximately 60 thousandths of an inch. This figure compares with an error of 360 thousandths of an inch when the same chain is constructed in the conventional manner wherein hardened bushings and lilm t bearing surfaces are not present. In other words, the error has been reduced 600 percent by the present invention.

Of equal importance is the fact that the two chains when constructed in accordance with the invention, can be matched with a tolerance of plus or minus .005 of an inch, thereby insuring that all of the card flats will remain parallel one to another and positioned precisely at right angles to the attached chains during operation.

The provision of the above-mentioned lm it bearing surfaces and the hardened heat-treated bushings are of further special significance in that the entire card ilat conveyor is made self-lubricating at its pivotal connections without oil leakage, that is, at the pivotal connections between bolts 40 and bushing bores 39 and at the pivotal connections between link bores 38 and the outer peripheries of bushings 36. Fiber preparation processes necessarily produce large amounts of lint which readily adheres to any exposed lubricants of a uid nature. The lubrication of. conventional card chains attracts and accumulates this lint and constitutes a source of contamination of the carded sliver, and therefore is not frequently attempted.

The differential hardness between the interengaging surface portions of the pivotal connections alone contributes substantially to the improved construction of the conveyor, since the outer peripheral surfaces of the precision ground and relatively harder bushings 36 will erase minor irregularities in the relatively softer surfaces of bores 38 when the bushings are hlm-fitted into the bores during asd sembly of the card flat chain. The erasure of these minor irregularities during assembly substantially increases the bearing contact area between the interengaging surfaces and thereby decreases the unit compressive stress and resulting friction and wear during operation. Furthermore, the differential hardness of the interengaging surfaces prevents galling and metal-to-metal fusion in the event of operation under high chain tensile stress and without lubrication. The provision of the self-lubricating bushing supplements the desirable results afforded by the differential hardness to further reduce, friction, galling and metal-to-rnetal fusion of the interengaging surfaces.

' In the above description, the heat-treated bushing 36 is designated as relatively harder than the link flats 20a, Zlib and the bolts 46. it is evident, however, that the same effect could be obtained by making the bushing of soft metal and the link llats and bolt of relatively harder metal.

In the drawings and specification a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, and although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic sense and not intended for the purpose of limitation, the scope of invention being set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

`l. A card iiat chain joint comprising, the combination of at least two successive metallic links of said chain arranged to overlap one another at their ends, said overlapped ends having a bore extending therethrough, a metallic bushing having a heat-treated outer periphery impregnated with sulphides, said periphery being relatively harder than and rotatably engaging the inner periphery of said bore, one end of said bushing having integral therewith an abutment portion for preventing movement of said link ends longitudinally of the bushing in one direction, means detachably secured to the other end portion of said bushing for preventing movement of said link ends longitudinally of the bushing in the opposite direction, said bushing having a bore extending therethrough concentric with said iirst-named bore, and a metallic bolt rotatably mounted in the bushing bore, one end of said bolt being threadably secured in the end of a card flat of said chain and the other bolt end having integral therewith an enlargement engageable with said abutment portion to confine the bushing on said bolt, the inner periphery of said bushing bore being heat-treated, impregnated with sulphides and relatively harder than the outer periphery of said bolt, whereby the differential hardness of the respective relatively rotatable interengaging surfaces of the bushing, link ends and bolt will reduce galling and metal-to-metal fusion during operation, and whereby the bushing, links and card flat are detachably secured to one another.

2. A card flat chain connection comprising, the combination of at least two successive metallic links of said chain arranged to overlap one another at their ends, said overlapped ends having a bore extending therethrough, a metallic bushing having a heat-treated outer periphery impregnated with sulphides, said periphery being relatively harder than and rotatably engaging the inner periphery of said bore, one end of said bushing having integral therewith an abutment portion yfor preventing movement of said link ends longitudinally of the bushing in one direction, and means detachably secured to the other end portion of said bushing for preventing movement of said link ends longitudinally of the bushing in the opposite direction, said bushing having a boreextendng therethrough concentric with said first-named bore, the inner periphery of said bushing bore being heat-treated, impregnated with sulphides, and hardened, whereby the differential hardness of the respective relatively rotatable interengaging surfaces ofthe bushing and link ends will reduce galling and metal-to-metal fusion during operation, and whereby the bushing and links are detachably secured to one another.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hethen'ngton Apr. 24, 1888 Williams June 1, 1937 Foard June 13, 1961 Hamaker Oct. 1, 1963 6 FOREIGN PATENTS France Aug. 12, 1953 Great Britain of 1889 Great Britain of 1898 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1957 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1959 

1. A CARD FLAT CHAIN JOINT COMPRISING, THE COMBINATION OF AT LEAST TWO SUCCESSIVE METALLIC LINKS OF SAID CHAIN ARRANGED TO OVERLAP ONE ANOTHER AT THEIR ENDS, SAID OVERLAPPED ENDS HAVING A BORE EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, A METALLIC BUSHING HAVING A HEAT-TREATED OUTER PERIPHERY IMPREGNATED WITH SULPHIDES, SAID PERIPHERY BEING RELATIVELY HARDER THAN AND ROTATABLY ENGAGING THE INNER PERIPHERY OF SAID BORE, ONE END OF SAID BUSHING HAVING INTEGRAL THEREWITH AN ABUTMENT PORTION FOR PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF SAID LINK ENDS LONGITUDINALLY OF THE BUSHING IN ONE DIRECTION, MEANS DETACHABLY SECURED TO THE OTHER END PORTION OF SAID BUSHING FOR PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF SAID LINK ENDS LONGITUDINALLY OF THE BUSHING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, SAID BUSHING HAVING A BORE EXTENDING THERETHROUGH CONCENTRIC WITH SAID FIRST-NAMED BORE, AND A METALLIC BOLT ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE BUSHING BORE, ONE END OF SAID BOLT BEING THREADABLY SECURED IN THE END OF A CARD FLAT OF SAID CHAIN AND THE OTHER BOLT END HAVING INTEGRAL THERE- 